Meet the Team

John is the CEO of Taste of the West and is responsible for the strategy and delivery of all our industry support programmes and also for developing our promotional voice. He is a passionate supporter of all things West Country, having been brought up on a small farm in East Devon, he was a farmer for 15 years and has also worked for 10 years in the environment sector.  

07974 660804

Caroline is our Business Development Manager and she's responsible for the company accounting function, as well as membership sales and working closely with John (our CEO) on new business opportunities and their development. Caroline has worked in many different sectors - but always in the South West - throughout her career.

07899 426708

Evelyn is responsible for managing our range accounts including purchasing and supplying products to Ocado. She is also responsible for our attendance at London Olympia's Speciality & Fine Food Fair and at the Devon County Show.

07392 548150

Sophie is responsible for the management of our range accounts, including the Ocado account and therefore works very closely with Evelyn. After 15 years working in sales and marketing in London and Sydney, Sophie chose the West Country to settle and spends a lot of time enjoying the region’s fabulous food and drink, and then getting out and about to work it all off!

07810 683914

Rachel is our Communications Manager and gets key messages out to our members and also the wider audience beyond our membership. She works with all media outlets, including social media. Having lived and worked in Germany for many years, Rachel now resides in the West Country where she loves supporting and championing independent food and drink businesses.

07572 564700

Lily is responsible for overseeing our awards programme and in particular, the development and running of the products awards scheme. She has worked in and around food and drink within hospitality and retail for the last decade, as well as various charities and the heritage sector. Now living in Devon, Lily loves flying the flag for West Country food and drink. 

07496 321445

As our Membership Consultant, Alice comes with years of experience in event and sponsorship management, as well as marketing, media sales and running her own pub - all of which she has done successfully within the commercial sector of the South West. She enjoys building lasting relationships and always has new and intuitive ways to add value and benefit. She aims to connect businesses within the food and drink industry to encourage them to showcase their businesses and achievements.